Growing up in Phoenix, you would think I would have become accustomed to that city’s God awful heat, but the truth is, I never did. Every single summer I found myself hunkering down indoors and scurrying from one air-conditioned building to the next. After I married and had kids, I noticed how quickly my kids over-heated when they played outdoors and began learning how to mitigate the effects of heat while enjoying school-free days.

A heat wave is about as predictable in the summer as the presence of watermelon at farmer’s markets. If you live in an area that doesn’t usually experience high temperatures, you may find yourself and your family in danger of heatstroke. As a lifelong desert rat, here are a few tips to help you stay cool, or as cool as possible when summer heat soars.

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Turn off your fans when you leave home. Circulating air is meant to help keep your body cool. When no one is in the room, electricity is being wasted.

If your home or apartment doesn’t have air conditioning, keep spray bottles filled with water handy. It’s amazing how a spritz of water on your face will help you feel cooler.

Here’s an old trick I learned when I lived on a kibbutz. Just before bedtime, spritz your bedsheets with plenty of water, aim an electric fan toward your side of the bed, jump in and go to sleep, quickly!

If you don’t yet own a few battery-powered fans, hurry over to Amazon and pick up at least one or two. I bought one small fan (this size) for each member of my family. My thinking is that we should each be able to have our own fan and not have to share its cooling breeze with anyone.